Category Archives: About Me

Whisper brushes like a too familiar stranger on the subway train.
Annoyed at the intrusion, you fume but whisper nothing back.
Oh, you have things to tell that wispy voice,
Things you’ll get around to when it’s right.
Somehow the time seems wrong, just another day or two….

It seems to whisper things you knew but would forget.
It does not forget, that wispy voice; it’ll not let go—
Not because of that which could have been,
But because of that which was and now is gone.

Another breath and soft caress; too close to stay.
Jumble of noise not making sense, just go away!
Behind your back, around your head, but never in your ear—
Persistent pest, that weak-willed voice won’t halt,
Won’t stop to breathe sweet nothings…No….
No; it shares no nothings with your ear.
Let it buzz and flit about; there’s no response for nothing.
When it’s calm there will be time to whisper—
No, not whisper—time to say, “ .”
Then the pesky buzz, the wordless whisper, might go away.

Days pass ‘til you can’t tell if it’s been weeks or months,
But still the whisper’s there, no change you can detect.
Weeks go by until they’re months or maybe even years.
Has there been a time you didn’t know this background noise,
This softly rustling, whispering, rasping sound?
Hard to remember…there was a time, it seems,
When faint whispers found their way inside
To mingle with the messy parts of who you are.
Those pleasing sounds couldn’t be the same as this?
This darting, fleeting, mad’ning hum?
No, no, they’re not the same, they couldn’t be,
One looked to be a part of you. This other: apart from you.
So you change your days and set your mind to other things—
Tune out that vexing sound apart from you—
To fix those messy parts which it deserted long ago.

Less and less do you hear the buzz, the whispering fades,
Tugs less frequently, and only here and there in small crescendos.

Failing to remember the place it loved
and what it used to say,
The whisper
fades

Well, a couple of people (yes, I believe that is the correct small number) have been wondering why A Clown in the Middle has been gathering cobwebs.

Short answer? My interests lie outside of writing–tangential, related, but ultimately moving toward different endpoints. On the road with the tour, this blog was a good way of spouting off about things without having to annoy Janell. It was also a good way to catalog some of the places and things I wanted to remember. However, now that I’m back at home and working in town, the blog fairly far out of mind. I like to be on stage, not behind the keyboard or pencil all that much.

However, I’m on the road again now. Only for the weekend, but it is very reminiscent of the tour. I traveled 380 miles to Garden City, Kansas to perform in the Tumbleweed Festival with StoneLion Puppet Theatre. We’re doing 3 shows this weekend, teaching a workshop, and doing some roving entertainment.

If you’re near Garden City, come out and see the festival–plenty of things for adults and kids alike. If you make it out, I’ll buy you a beer (I find it very unlikely that anyone is close to Garden City).

This being my birthday, combined with the similarity of my tour, I thought this would be a good next entry point. Thanks to those few who have checked in now and again–I can’t promise a lot of content in the future, but I’ll try harder.

So. DaveScot one invited me to look him up anytime I was in Austin–ostensibly so he could kill me with a chainsaw. Why would he want to do such a thing? Well, because I disagree with him about scientific issues and that’s how science is decided–chainsaws.

No, I did not die, though some may have been wondering. Through a series of events: hotels with no or bad wireless networks, hideous driving times, actual work being done, personal fun being had, and blogger’s lethargy–I have neglected A Clown in the Middle.

I have 3 things to say to the few dozen people that have stopped by almost daily for the past 2 weeks.

1. Thanks for contuing to check in; I appreciate it.
2. What the hell’s wrong with you; don’t you have better things to do?
3. Just because I have been silent doesn’t mean I’ve not been thinking.

Upcoming posts in the next couple of days:

A. My upcoming meeting with Tard Supreme Commander, DaveScot in Austin, TX.
B. A review of a really cool popular science book on information theory that I finished.C. A band you should listen to.
D. Discussion of wine country in Washington and Idaho (yes, Idaho).E. The niftiness of Sacramento and a possible thearical job there.

It’s time to go back to the bliss of actually acting instead of doing my real job of auditioning. My UPTAs are done for the year and I guess it went okay. I didn’t receive as many callbacks as I would have liked, but who did (with the exception of number 346, perhaps–that guy must be awesome)? But the callbacks I did get went very well and I think there is a better than 50/50 chance that each company will offer me a job. Several companies just kept my resume, which could mean anything from nothing to everything, who knows.

But not a valuable stone made by geological forces. It’s a submandibular lymphatic calcium deposit. And it is delicious. I’m told it will go away in 10 days or so…that’s 4 days from now. If it doesn’t, they’ll want to biospy it–not delicious. I think it is affecting my recovery from laryngitis and I have shows again starting on Monday. Delicious.

sounds of a struggle….

We apologize for the clown, he keeps using the word “delicious”. We don’t think it means what he think it means. The clown has been sacked.

Who Am I?

Just a clown and not-starving actor trying to make sense of the world from fly-over land. Currently visiting and performing for what seems like every school in North America. If you see me, offer me a piece of pie (not starving, but there's always room for pie).